Sifter.



G. F. HIGGINS.

SIFTEE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1912.

Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

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GEORGE F. HIGGINS, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS..

SIFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

Application fi1ed March 27, 1912. Serial No. 686,606.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. HIGGINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Melrose, in the county of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sifters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sifters of the type comprising a rotary sieve, and consists in certain improvements in construction which will be hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a, central vertical section through the sifter, Fig. 2 is an end view looking from the right in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of construction, and, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

The sifter, which in its general constructive arrangement is similar to that shown in the pending application of Louis Libbmann, Ser. No. 541,011, filed January 31, 1910, comprises a casing 1, polygonal in cross-section and having its base removed to leave an opening 2, through which the fine material, which passes through the sieve falls into the receptacle At its rear end, the casing 1 is closed by a head 4, secured therein, as by electric-welding for example, and provided with an outlet spout 5 for the cinders. At its other end, the casing 1 is closed by a head 6, on the outside of which is permanently secured a hopper 7, through which the material to be sifted is fed into the casing, the head 6 having an opening 8 for that purpose. The head 6 is cupped, as shown, around said opening 8, so as to form an annular shoulder 9, for a purpose to be described.

A shaft 11 is centrally mounted in the casing, being journaled in bearings 10 and 12, located on the rear head 4 and on the lower wall of the hopper respectively. It is desirable to form one of these bearings as a thrust bearing, and in the drawing I have shown the bearing 10 so constructed and consisting of a flanged metal cup secured to the head 4. Obviously any form of thrust hearing may be used, either on said head or on the lower wall of the hopper in place of the straight bearing 12 there shown. At the proper places, on the shaft I form, by swaging in dies or by attachment thereto,

radially projecting wings l4, and on said wings I mount the radial arms 15, which are cut out to fit the same. Said arms 15 are shaped at their outer ends to form supports for the wire-screen cylinder 17, which forms the sieve. This may be accomplished by bending the ends of the arms, as shown at 16, orby otherwise forming shoulders thereon for the sieve to bear against. To hold said screen securely in place, metal rings 18 and 19 are slipped around the ends of the same, over the supporting ends 16 of the radial arms, and are secured to the latter by riveting or by welding. The ends of said rings are curled over, as shown at 20, to inclose the ends of the screen and strengthen the construction. The curled over end 20 of the ring 19 fits rotatably over the annular shoulder 9, of the head 6, so that said shoulder supports the sieve at the end where the incoming material falls into the same and takes the load off the shaft 11. The arms 15 may be secured against longitudinal movement on the shaft, by the cotter-pins 21 and washers 22, or by any other suitable locking device. One set of said pins or washers need only be used, viz., that on the rear side of the arms 15 near the outlet end of the sieve.

One of the advantages of the construction described resides in the ease with which the parts can be assembled. The sieve is built up as a whole and is then inserted into the casing 1 through the opening 2 and is held in position with the end 20 of the ring 19 over the shoulder 9, while the shaft is slipped through the opening 23 in the wall of the hopper and is passed through the openings in the radial arms 15, until its end rests in the bearing 10, and the arms 15 are then secured in place on the wings 14 by the cotterpin, whereby, with but one locking device, the complete and perfect assemblage of the crank-shaft 11, the sieve cylinder 17 and the casing 11 is secured.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is In a sifter' of the type described, the combination of a casing adapted to rest over a receptacle, a shaft centrally mounted in said casing, a cylindrical sieve carried by said shaft, a ring on the front end of said sieve bearing on and against the adjacent end of said casing to take the load 01f said shaft my hand in presence of two subscribing Witand to prevent longitudinal movement of nesses. said sieve and shaft in one direction, and a thrust bearing for said shaft to prevent 5 longitudinal movement thereof and of said sieve in the other direction.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set GEORGE F. HIGGINS.

Witnesses:

WALTER B. PINDER, CLARK FREEMAN HIGGINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

